Ink Blots

Looking out of my window and up at the sky has really become part of my daily routine. This week I noticed something quite odd. My seven year old nephew, Alex, joined me on one of my observation nights. At 7:05 pm we were debating on the shape of a certain cloud. Alex said that the cloud was in the shape of a duck while I said it looked like a rabbit and because he is a stubborn child he brought his younger brother Aiden, who is four, and his mom, Jeannette, who is twenty seven. Aiden just said the cloud looked like a circle and Jeannette said it looked like a sideways bird. After this conversation I realized how similar this situation was to a psychological test. I know that sounds really weird but in the Rorschach test, recognizing shapes in an ink blot is a way to evaluate your psychological health.

"Seeing radically different things than the typical responses or claiming to see nothing at all will definitely be held against you in terms of Rorschach scoring, and may result in a finding of "retardation" or a possible mental disorder. Seeing lots of different things in the card may also be taken as a sign of cognitive problems or even schizophrenia."

This test is used in the context of a custody case or evaluation. Although, some people part of the American Psychological Association do not agree with this method because of its unproven validity. Basically, there is no evidence of this test being effective or not. 
This test could be (or already is) unreliable if the real inkblot images were given to the public. Therefore, the ink blots in online tests or games are not the real thing. If you do know about the test (well you kind of do now because you're reading this) and you are going to be tested, it's recommended to tell the procter because your knowledge can affect your results. Below is an example of an Ink Blot.

"This is a card with black and red ink, often described as people dancing or touching hands with each other."

I wonder if the shapes we see in the clouds are similar to this test. I promise to research this another time. Could age just complicate the way we see things? Aiden is only four and could only attach his concept of the cloud to his small set of shapes he has seen. His cognitive thinking hasn't fully developed yet while Alex has a larger set of shapes and so his image was a bit more complicated even though he is still really young. Jeannette and I had even crazier ideas but the age gap between all of us are ranged and could prove this theory true. The Rorschach test is just a complex way of learning about someone. If you'd like to take a test yourself there are some links here and here.  Remember that this is not the real thing even if some of the pictures can be really similar. You do not have to believe any results you may have gotten. None of these tests are diagnosing you. If you really do believe you have a problem please contact a professional. Do not self-diagnose. 

(Edit: I just checked the tests and they were really inappropriate so I took them down. I'd rather not let students take really weird online tests that just insults you the entire time (they're probably trolls that changed the sites answers and choices). If you get curious and take one online please read the above statement again.)